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Roundup: Pomp as Tanzania marks 55 years of independence

Xinhua, December 10, 2016 Adjust font size:

Tanzania's Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, President John Magufuli, on Friday led over 45 million Tanzanians in celebrations marking the east African country's 55th independence anniversary.

The celebrations held at the Uhuru Stadium in the commercial capital were coloured by military manoeuvres in which trained commandos displayed their combat and defensive tactics that left tens of hundreds of watchers awestruck.

The Tanzania People's Defence Forces (TPDF), the Tanzania Police Force, the Tanzania Prisons and the National Service mounted an impressive parade that passed and saluted the President and other leaders.

President Magufuli inspected a guard of honour mounted by the armed forces to commemorate December 9, 1961, when Tanganyika hosted its flag after the country gained independence from British colonialists at the same venue.

Speaking to tens of hundreds of Tanzanians who attended the colourful celebrations at the historic stadium, President Magufuli said he cancelled celebrations to mark 54 years of independence last year because he was new to the country's leadership.

President Magufuli was sworn in as the country's fifth President on November 5, 2015, succeeding retired President Jakaya Kikwete after serving two five-year terms.

"I also cancelled the celebrations last year after I had realized that the budget for the festivities was too huge. I ordered that the budget should instead be used to construct a four-kilometre road stretch in Dar es Salaam," said Magufuli.

He said celebrations to mark the country's 56th independence anniversary and others to follow will be held in the political capital Dodoma.

Magufuli mentioned a catalogue of achievements made by his government in the past one year, including the purchase of six aircraft for the national carrier -- Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL) and effective implementation of free education policy.

He said the government was spending 9 million U.S. dollars a month to cover academic costs for public primary and secondary students in the country.

"We have also managed to increase the development budget to 40 percent to ensure the effective delivery of all pledges which were made during my election campaigns," he said.

Magufuli said he is optimistic that by 2020 all promises that he made will be fulfilled.

He said 2.5 billion U.S. dollars have been set aside for the construction of the new standard gauge railway that will link Tanzania to other neighbouring countries.

Magufuli assured people of his continuous efforts to fight against corruption and restore discipline in public offices,

President Magufuli also thanked past leaders for what he described as nurturing peace and tranquility in the country. Enditem